Feeding of pets and animals can be complicated by the feeding schedules of the animals, the dietary constraints of the animals and the interactions among multiple animals vying for a common source of food. For example, a dominant animal may not allow other animals to eat food. In another example, different animals housed and fed in a common area, for example a dog and a cat in the same household, are being given different feeds. In addition to a difference in diet being dictated by animal species, other causes of different diets include stage-of-life, i.e., kitten, puppy, adult, senior, temporary illness, chronic medical condition, illness prevention, obesity and pickiness.
Feeding a single animal once or twice a day can be difficult enough for owners that have demanding or erratic schedules due to other family and work commitments. The additional burden of having conflicting feeding schedules, frequent feeding schedules or stringent dietary requirements can present an almost impossible situation. Solutions such as physically separating the animals at feeding time, standing guard as the animals eat to ensure each animal eats only its own food and making choices that could compromise the nutrition or health of an animal are not acceptable. Therefore, an automated, flexible, easy to use and cost effective feeding system for animals is needed that provides for the desired level of control over the feeding of animals and in particular of multiple animals housed in a common location.